Pacific Seafood's Clam Chowder

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 20
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 slice bacon, diced
• 1/2 cup part leek, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 1/4 cups canned clam juice
• 1 1/2 cups canned clams
• 1 quart diced potato
• 1/4 cup wine
• 2 1/2 quarts light cream (half and half)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• flour
• butter

Recipe

• 1 melt the butter in a large, heavy casserole. add the bacon and saute until crisp. add the leek, onion and celery and saute until soft and barely golden.
• 2 stir in the seasonings, clam juice, clams, potatoes and wine. cook gently until the potatoes are tender.
• 3 add the light cream, salt and pepper. thicken with equal parts flour and butter that have been mixed together.
• 4 [joan's note: marranate tells me the chefs create a roux with the butter and flour. without testing this recipe, i'm not sure how much roux you'll need, so you may as well make a lot. (it keeps well in the freezer, and you can use it to thicken other sauces and soups.).
• 5 in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat, melt 1 stick of butter. sprinkle 1/2 cup flour over the butter while whisking the mixture. cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture is smooth and a pale golden color.
• 6 add 3/4 of the roux to the soup and continue to cook until the soup thickens. add the remaining roux if you need it, cooking the soup a bit after the final addition.